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Songs for the Deaf
Songs for the Deaf is the 3rd studio album from Queens of the Stone Age, released on August 27, 2002. The album marks the transition from a looser sound in its predecessor, Rated R, and into a heavier, riff-driven rock. It is known for the singles Go With the Flow and No One Knows, two of the best-known songs from the band, and also from the feature of Dave Grohl on drums. Apart from those, there is a third single, First it Giveth. Concept The album has the concept of a drive from Los Angeles to Palm Desert, California, listened through the radio stations on the car. You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire begins with the sound of the car being started and the radio stations, shuffled, until it stops at the KLON fictional station, which announces the song. Throughout the album, there is radio stations shuffling between songs that conduct one into another, up until A Song For The Deaf. After that, the "hidden tracks" don't present any radio sound at all. Features Deaf is most known for featuring Foo Fighters' frontman Dave Grohl on drums, but, although everyone believes he wrote the drum tracks, they were originally worked by the previous drummer, Gene Trautmann. After Trautmann left the band, Josh Homme called Grohl (since Queens had opened for Foo Fighters on the Rated R era) inviting him to play the drum tracks for the new album. Grohl then put Foo Fighters into hiatus, playing drums for the album and playing on the promotional tour for Deaf. The first gig from the short tour with Grohl was in the Troubadour, in Los Angeles, on March 7, 2002; and the last one was on July 28, 2002, on the Fuji Rock Festival. Shortly after, Grohl returned to Foo Fighters, releasing the album One By One on October 22, 2002. After Grohl's exit, ex-Danzig drummer Joey Castillo entered the band for touring, turning into official drummer up to the recording process of Queens' 6th studio album, ...Like Clockwork. Songs for the Deaf marks the last appearance in studio albums from Brendon McNichol, Gene Trautmann and Nick Oliveri, and the first appearances from Natasha Schneider and Alain Johannes. On the touring lineup, it was debut for Joey Castillo and Troy Van Leeuwen, which later became two of the most important musicians in Queens history. It also marked the last Queens tour for Nick Oliveri. Fun Facts * The Real Song for the Deaf is a ghost track from the album: hitting play on Millionaire and then rewind on the CD version takes to an 1:33 minute-long hidden track. The "song" begins with a man saying "Huh? What?" and then takes us to a bassline which goes to the end of the song. The bassline was recorded in such a deep, low tone it is possible that deaf people might actually percieve the vibrations in it, "hearing" the song (hence the name, The Real Song for the Deaf). * Although Mosquito Song and Everybody's Gonna be Happy ''are featured as hidden tracks on the album, they are actually listed on the back of the album. * After A Song for the Deaf ends, there is an approximately 30 second-long break, and then a "hidden track", that is the recording of a bit of Feel Good Hit of the Summer, but with the lyrics exchanged for laughter. * Between ''No One Knows and First it Giveth, Alain Johannes plays the fake DJ announcing the song. Between Another Love Song and A Song for the Deaf, it's Natasha Schneider, and between A Song for the Deaf and the silence, Dave Catching. * The intro bit from the drum track in A Song for the Dead is taken from a Black Flag song, Slip It In. * The next album from QOTSA, Lullabies to Paralyze, has its name taken from a line in Mosquito Song: "where will you run / where will you hide / lullabies to paralyze..." * On the bridge of God Is in the Radio, there is a reversed audio track. Most words are intelligible, but you can hear Lanegan whispering. Tracklisting * The Real Song for the Deaf - ghost track (1:33) - Instrumental * You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire (3:12) - Vocals: Nick Oliveri * No One Knows (4:38) - Vocals: Josh Homme * First It Giveth (3:18) - Vocals: Josh Homme * A Song for the Dead (5:52) - Vocals: Mark Lanegan * The Sky is Fallin' (6:15) - Vocals: Josh Homme * Six Shooter (1:19) - Vocals: Nick Oliveri * Hangin' Tree (3:06) - Vocals: Mark Lanegan * Go With the Flow (3:09) - Vocals: Josh Homme * Gonna Leave You (2:50) - Vocals: Nick Oliveri * Do it Again (4:04) - Vocals: Josh Homme * God is in the Radio (6:04) - Vocals: Mark Lanegan * Another Love Song (3:16) - Vocals: Nick Oliveri * A Song for the Deaf (6:42) - Vocals: Mark Lanegan, Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri * Mosquito Song - hidden track (5:37) - Vocals: Josh Homme * Everybody's Gonna Be Happy - bonus track (2:35) - Vocals: Josh Homme The Real Song for the Deaf features as a ghost track. Both Mosquito Song and Everybody's Gonna be Happy are featured as hidden tracks. Additional Musicians * Alain Johannes - e-bow and organ on Another Love Song, piano and flamenco guitar on Mosquito Song and flamenco guitar on First it Giveth * Natasha Schneider - e-bow and organ on Another Love Song, piano on Mosquito Song, theremin on Six Shooter * Dean Ween - guitar on Six Shooter, Another Love Song and Mosquito Song * Brendon McNichol - lead guitar on Go With the Flow * Chris Goss - keyboard on The Sky is Fallin' * Gene Trautmann - drums on You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire and Go With the Flow * Main Street Horns - strings and horns on Mosquito Song DJ interludes * C-Minus - ? * Twiggy Ramirez - God is in the Radio AM 580 (South America) DJ and DJ Tom Skerrit * Dave Catching - W-A-N-T High Desert radio (after Song for the Deaf) * Blag Dahlia - DJ Kip Kasper from KLON radio * Casey Chaos - KRDL radio DJ * Chris Goss - ? Pressings Promos and samplers The 1 track promo comes in a slimline jewel case with the pitchfork and Q logo colors reversed. The 3 track promo comes in a cardboard sleeve with the pitchfork and Q logo colors reversed. A sampler called Sample This, Schoolboy was originally thought to come from QOTSA's street team. It's actual origin remains unknown, but it's probably just another promo from the label. You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire is just entitled "Millionaire" on the Sample this, Schoolboy CD.http://www.thefade.net/oldsite/discography/deafsampler.html The UK promo comes in a slipcover case with a picture of Josh and Nick yelling and pointing at the camera. It has a promotional Polydor sticker on the back. The Aussie promo comes in a cardboard sleeve with the pitchfork and Q logo colors reversed. The US promo has the Q logo as a front sleeve. Some song titles differ from one version to another. "First it Giveth" is entitled "First it Giveth_#1" on the promo tape and on the first 4 acetate CDR. Same thing for "You Think I ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel like a Millionaire" which is briefly entitled "Millionaire" (on the Aussie promo CD too) and for "God is in the Radio" which is entitled "God". Moreover, some versions give us "God is on the Radio" as a title. Finally, other versions and have "Hanging Tree" on the tracklist.http://www.thefade.net/oldsite/discography/deafpromo.html Releases The clean edition comes with censored versions of Six Shooter and Song for the Deaf (for the line "The blind can go get fucked"). The Japanese edition has Everybody's Gonna Be Happy Kinks, The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret (live), and Gonna Leave You in Spanish as bonus tracks. The Taiwanese version is German in origin and is the same as the standard European version, but the yellow overlay has a mistake in it: "You Think U Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire." The Argentina version comes with a CD booklet and not a leaflet. The French version is a limited edition version issued in 2003. It comes with an extra disc which contains the No One Knows video and the making of the video. This extra disc comes in a paper sleeve. How many copies it's limited to is currently unknown. The European tour edition is the regular album, plus Everybody's Gonna Be Happy and a bonus disc with five songs from the Nov. 1, 2002 show at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. It was released to coincide with the 2003 European Summer Tour, which started in Italy on June 2. The Aussie tour edition is the regular album, plus Everybody's Gonna Be Happy and a bonus disc with five songs from the Nov. 1, 2002 show at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. It was released to coincide with the 2004 Australian tour. The full Ancienne Belgique show in Brussels was recorded and broadcasted by Studio Brussels. The vinyl edition is supposedly limited to 3000 copies, being widely bootlegged around the world. Ipecac's much-anticipated Songs for the Deaf vinyl was released in late July 2003 after long delays. It's a double LP on clear red vinyl with a black gatefold sleeve and it has lyrics to all of the songs except for Bloody Hammer. The initial pressing of the vinyl is numbered IPC-41, the same number as Mondo Generator's A Drug Problem That Never Existed. This is thought to be merely a misprint. The real number is IPC-43. The DVD is limited to 200,000 copies. Two different versions of the DVD are out there: a US version and a UK/AUS version. The difference between the two is that the US DVD has four live songs and a bunch of extra footage from live shows and the studio, and the UK/AUS DVD has five live tracks.http://www.thefade.net/oldsite/discography/deaf.html Matrix numbers * US release - 069 493 4252R1 02@ (barcode D145358) * European release - 06069 493 436-2 02 # 51288475 (barcode 0694934362) * UK 2CD - 4934352 01 6, 06069 493 441-9 50 02 # 51291168 (barcode 0694934440) * Sample This, Schoolboy promo - INTR107932 9228612007 (no barcode) * European sampler #1 - QOTSA2 01 5 (no barcode) * European sampler #2 - ADVQOTSA1 01 5 (no barcode) * US promo - INTF107752 9227311884 (no barcode) * European promo #1 - ADVQOTSA2 01 6 (no barcode) * European promo #2 - QOTSA3 01 5 (no barcode) * Australian 2CD - 0148865 4934362 01, 0255798 9800320 01 (barcode 0249800320) * Japanese release - UICF-1010 5R V (no barcode) * R + Deaf 2 for 1 - 06069 493 436-2 03 + 51288475 (barcode 0075326889) * R + Deaf 2 for 1 promo - no matrix number (no barcode) Artwork